A Good Soldier
by Mr. Wartburg
Summary: Dick Grayson, the first Robin, returns to the Bat Cave to face the death of a brother and an ally. He thought that Bruce had forsaken him, but it turns out that even members of the Bat-clan can be wrong from time to time.


**Hey everyone! I'm dealing with some writer's block for my other story that I have only chapter to finish. Sadly, I can't find the right way to wrap things up. So I thought I'd try something new and came across the idea of how Dick may have dealt with the death of a certain birdie within the YJ-universe. Enjoy and please review!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any DC characters.  
**

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Dick Grayson stood several feet away from the clear glass case that recently had something added to it in the Batcave. In fact it had only been added three days ago, though the fact that it adorned a wall of the cave was not that odd. Batman over the years had collected quite an assortment of trinkets, trophies and weapons in his many adventures. His first ward was there for many of them, having fought alongside the Caped Crusader from over 7 years before distancing himself from his Robin alter ego. Some objects within the cavernous hall were practical, like the weapons of his opponents he sometimes studied. Some objects were sentimental, like Dick's first Robin outfit (though Dick now felt embarrassed looking at its outlandishness). Still others, such as the giant penny and the T-Rex, were truly bizarre and to visitors were stories that just begged to be told, but Batman never told anyone those tales. Yet for all these wonders the new object in the Batcave had been heavily ignored by one Dick Grayson. He had avoided it like the plague for the past few days, not being able to come to grips with the story behind its place in the Cave.

He stood looking at glass, seeing his own reflection overlapping with the object within through a trick of the light. Staring into his own reflection he sighed, casting his gaze downward toward the plaque that adorned the colorful article of clothing that simple said: "_A Good Soldier"_. Jason Todd, the second Robin and Dick's younger "brother" had been savagely beaten by the Joker just days before. Batman had attempted a rescue but arrived minutes too late to prevent the explosion from killing Jason and his mother. Dick and Jason had never been particularly close, though their relationship had been improving in recent months. At first Dick couldn't stand the foul-mouthed 'replacement' and when he wasn't insulting the new Robin he was ignoring him. With his work on the team as Nightwing he never was in Gotham outside of school all that much. This time away from Bruce had given Dick a lot of perspective on the whole hero game and he grew up a lot in the two years that Jason took over his spot. Yet somewhere along the line Dick got over his hatred of Jason and instead started to see him as close ally, someone who understood the pressures that came with serving under Batman.

When Dick got word from Alfred of Jason's passing he had flown straight home and arrived at the Manor to find Bruce a changed man. He was more withdrawn than he had ever been, which was saying quite a lot considering he was Batman. His withdrawal from society had been the reason Dick made his way to the cave in the first place. The first Robin had been shocked to see the glass case next to the supercomputer in the prominent center of the cave. Dick started reminiscing about his various encounters and adventures with Jason over the past two years and scarcely noticed Bruce come up behind him and put a hand on his soldier. Since their falling out this was probably as much contact as they had had in months. They both stood silent for several minutes in front of the memorial before Bruce turned to leave. As he did so Dick spoke softly, as those he was once again that young child Bruce adopted all those years ago, "Bruce was I a good soldier?"

Batman couldn't believe that Dick thought their bond meant so little to him. "Dick," he turned back to face the young hero, "You still are, but it doesn't matter. You're an even better son." At that moment the Bat-signal went off calling the Dark Knight to action once again. While hastily suiting up and getting into the Bat-mobile the veteran hero stopped suddenly, looking towards Dick, "Care to join?"

Dick smiled outwardly, letting out his signature cackle. He was never so glad he always traveled with a back-up suit.

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**Hope you like it!**


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